The Recalibrated Compass - a Column by Alexandra Fendrich

What I’ve learned from trying (and failing) with several AS medications

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with an il-17 inhibitor. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. When my rheumatologist first told me we were going to try a biologic medication to treat my…

An ankylosing spondylitis diagnosis taught me about friendship

Ever since I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) three years ago, I’ve had many nights when I convinced myself I was better off staying at home in front of the TV with a heating pad on my back, watching “Love Is Blind.” When you are…

The recalibrated compass: Finding my way after an AS diagnosis

For the first year after my diagnosis, I dreamed almost nightly of my healthier self. In the depths of rapid eye movement sleep, I was sprinting across the soccer field, jogging down the paved roads of Central Park in New York, even shuffling my seventh-grade students through the subway…